Reversible Data Hiding Exploiting Variance in Wavelet Coefficients

In this paper, we present a new reversible data hiding scheme that utilizes the wavelet transform and better exploits the large wavelet coefficient variance to achieve high capacity and imperceptible embedding. Our scheme differs from those of previous studies in that the wavelet coefficients histogram rather than the gray-level histogram is manipulated. In addition, we design intelligent histogram-shifting rules to avoid the decimal problem in grayscale pixel values after recovery process to achieve reversibility. Small changes in the wavelet coefficients after embedding process are important factors contributing to low visual distortion in the marked image. Furthermore, an important property of our scheme is that the use of threshold differs greatly from previous schemes. The experimental results show that our scheme outperforms other reversible data hiding schemes.Facultad de Informátic

MuSiC: A Tool for Multiple Sequence Alignment with Constraints

Summary: MuSiC is a web server to perform the constrained alignment of a set of sequences, such that the user-specified residues/nucleotides are aligned with each other. The input of the MuSiC system consists of a set of protein/DNA/RNA sequences and a set of user-specified constraints, each with a fragment of residue/nucleotide that (approximately) appears in all input sequences. The output of MuSiC is a constrained multiple sequence alignment in which the fragments of the input sequences whose residues/nucleotides exhibit a given degree of similarity to a constraint are aligned together. The current MuSiC system is implemented in Java language and can be accessed via a simple web interface

Total Intravenous Anesthesia for Repair of Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia: A Case Report

Congenital diaphragmatic hernia is a cardiopulmonary anomaly that causes severe respiratory disorder. Traditionally, inhalational anesthetics with mechanical hyperventilation, opioids, and muscle relaxants are used in anesthesia for repair surgery. In this case, we used total intravenous anesthesia combined with high-frequency oscillatory ventilation and inhaled nitric oxide for surgical repair of the diaphragm. After surgery, the patient recovered well and was discharged from hospital 1 month later

Consensus Statement on the Use of Bone Turnover Markers for Short-Term Monitoring of Osteoporosis Treatment in the Asia-Pacific Region

Osteoporosis is a major health issue. By 2050, a greater than 2-fold increase in patients number with hip fractures will occur in Asia representing 50% of all hip fractures worldwide. For the Asia-Pacific (AP) region, more efforts on controlling osteoporosis and the subsequent fractures are crucial. Bone mineral density (BMD) by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) is commonly used to diagnose osteoporosis and monitor osteoporosis treatment. However, the inconvenience, cost, limited availability of DXA and the delay in detection of BMD changes after treatment initiation support an important role for bone turnover markers (BTMs), as short-term tools to monitor therapy. With regards to low adherence rates of medical treatment of osteoporosis, the experts reached consensus on the use of BTMs for both raising awareness and short-term monitoring of osteoporosis treatment in the AP region. The experts endorse the use of BTMs, especially serum C-terminal telopeptide of type 1 collagen (CTX) and serum procollagen type 1 N propeptide (P1NP), as short-term monitoring tools to help clinicians assess the responses to osteoporosis therapies and appropriately adjust treatment regimens earlier than BMD. Either the absolute values or the degree of change from baseline in BTMs can be used to monitor the potential efficacy of osteoporosis therapies. The use of BTMs can be incorporated in osteoporosis care programs, such as fracture liaison service (FLS), to improve patient adherence and treatment outcomes. Encouraging sufficient reimbursement from health care systems may facilitate widespread use of BTMs in clinical practice in the AP region